The Amateur's Mind

The amateur's mind takes the student on a journey through his own mind and returns him to the chess board with a wealth of new-found knowledge and the promise of a significant gain in strength.
Most amateurs possess erroneous thinking processes that remain with them throughout their chess lives. These flaws in their mental armor result in stinging defeats and painful reversals. Books can be bought and studied, lessons can be taken - but in the end, these elusive problems always prove to be extremely difficult to eradicate.
Seeking a solution to this dilemma, Mr. Silman wrote down the thoughts of his students while they played actual games, analyzed them, and catalogued the most common misconceptions that arose. He then eradicated these mental traps by offering advice, rules of conduct and strategy, and penetrating psychological insight.
This second edition of the amateur's mind greatly expands on the information contained in the popular first edition. In particular, the addition of twenty-six tests and their detailed explanations, add more than one hundred pages of instruction-rich material.


International chess master Jeremy Silman is a world-class teacher, writer and player who has won the American Open, the National Open and the U.S. Open. The author of thirty-two best-selling chess books including How to reassess your chess and the complete book of chess strategy he has also written dozens of articles that have appeared in magazines throughout the world.
For the past several years Mr. Silman has been the coach of the United States delegation to the World Junior Championship, taking his team to Brazil, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and Spain.

My desire in writing this new edition of The Amateur's Mind is to supply tools to the average player that will enable him or her to improve dramatically. Though the general base of the original book still exists, I've simplified the language when I deemed it necessary. The book's layout has been redesigned now it's easier to pick out the key points and assimilate the material presented.
Most importantly, I've added twenty-six tests at the end of the book. The answers to these tests, all deep and instruction rich, add more than one hundred pages of highly useful information. The addition of a glossary allows the puzzled student quick and easy access to chess terms, strategies, and concepts.
I'm convinced that this original material, combined with the improvements outlined above, will turn any serious student of the game into a strong tournament player.

Jeremy Silman April 1999

TThe amateur's mind takes the student on a journey through his own mind and returns him to the chess board with a wealth of new-found knowledge and the promise of a significant gain in strength.
Most amateurs possess erroneous thinking processes that remain with them throughout their chess lives. These flaws in their mental armor result in stinging defeats and painful reversals. Books can be bought and studied, lessons can be taken - but in the end, these elusive problems always prove to be extremely difficult to eradicate.
Seeking a solution to this dilemma, Mr. Silman wrote down the thoughts of his students while they played actual games, analyzed them, and catalogued the most common misconceptions that arose. He then eradicated these mental traps by offering advice, rules of conduct and strategy, and penetrating psychological insight.
This second edition of the amateur's mind greatly expands on the information contained in the popular first edition. In particular, the addition of twenty-six tests and their detailed explanations, add more than one hundred pages of instruction-rich material.


International chess master Jeremy Silman is a world-class teacher, writer and player who has won the American Open, the National Open and the U.S. Open. The author of thirty-two best-selling chess books including How to reassess your chess and the complete book of chess strategy he has also written dozens of articles that have appeared in magazines throughout the world.
For the past several years Mr. Silman has been the coach of the United States delegation to the World Junior Championship, taking his team to Brazil, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and Spain.

My desire in writing this new edition of The Amateur's Mind is to supply tools to the average player that will enable him or her to improve dramatically. Though the general base of the original book still exists, I've simplified the language when I deemed it necessary. The book's layout has been redesigned now it's easier to pick out the key points and assimilate the material presented.
Most importantly, I've added twenty-six tests at the end of the book. The answers to these tests, all deep and instruction rich, add more than one hundred pages of highly useful information. The addition of a glossary allows the puzzled student quick and easy access to chess terms, strategies, and concepts.
I'm convinced that this original material, combined with the improvements outlined above, will turn any serious student of the game into a strong tournament player.

Jeremy Silman April 1999